Hospice News and Research

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Quantitative look at the whole experience of patients with pancreatic cancer

Every year, nearly 45,000 Americans are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The odds against those stricken by the disease are truly dismal; pancreatic cancer almost always kills within two years after diagnosis, no matter how it is treated. Even aggressive intervention with chemotherapy, radiation or surgery rarely yields more than an extra month to a year of survival, depending on the stage of the disease.

24 Aug 2012

Affordable Care Act: an interview with Val J. Halamandaris, President of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC)

The intent of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is to provide all Americans with medical insurance. Thirty-five million additional people will be covered, in part by government premiums and in part by making it easier for them to buy their own insurance.

17 Aug 2012

Palliative care on Scottish surgical wards needs improving

More than half of individuals with terminal gastrointestinal cancer on general surgical wards in Scotland do not undergo operative intervention on their final admission, show study results published in The Surgeon.

15 Aug 2012

National HCGNE announces $1.38M in awards to Claire M. Fagin Fellows, Patricia G. Archbold Scholars

The National Hartford Centers of Gerontological Nursing Excellence (HCGNE) today announced $1.38 million in awards to the latest cohort of Claire M. Fagin Fellows and Patricia G. Archbold Scholars studying gerontological nursing in academic settings across the U.S.

14 Aug 2012

Hospice cancer patients adhere well to pain meds

Study results from the midwest USA indicate that hospice-treated older individuals with cancer are highly adherent to pain medication, but that as they become more comfortable, adherence wanes.

8 Aug 2012

Discrepancies in ICU use identified

An analysis of intensive care unit use in the USA reveals that many patients admitted to this specialist department are at low risk for mortality, while more than half of patients with a high mortality risk are admitted to other departments.

27 Jul 2012

Self-neglect predicts hospice use among elderly

Both the presence and severity of self-neglect in the elderly independently predict hospice use, and are not mediated by the presence of health-related factors, show results published in the Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics.

25 Jul 2012

VGo Communications, VNAVNH partner to deploy telepresence robots for home healthcare

Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Vermont and New Hampshire (VNAVNH), and VGo Communications, the leader in robotic telepresence, announced their agreement to be the first to deploy telepresence robots for use in delivering care in New Hampshire and Vermont clients' homes.

25 Jul 2012

Pastoral support, not life-prolonging care, improves QoL at end of life

Quality of life at the end of life is improved when advanced cancer patients avoid being hospitalized, when their worry is reduced, they are given pastoral as well as medical care, and when they feel they are in alliance with their physician, show results of the Coping With Cancer study.

18 Jul 2012

Collaboration is key to effective cancer palliation

Collaborative decision-making and frequent meetings between palliative care teams and oncology staff are the most critical factors for improving end-of-life care, say French researchers.

11 Jul 2012

National quality performance standards for disposable adult absorbent products from NAFC

A council headed by the National Association For Continence (NAFC) released its recommended national quality performance standards for disposable adult absorbent products for incontinence in the frail, elderly and/or disabled populations.

11 Jul 2012

Racial differences in hospice use revealed

Study results show that while hospice use by Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure increased in the USA over the period 2000 through 2008, non-White patients were less likely to enroll than their White counterparts.

10 Jul 2012

Audit finds wrong part of Medicare was used to pay for hospice patients' drugs

The Medicare program could be paying multiple times for prescription drugs for hospice beneficiaries, a new federal report suggests.

6 Jul 2012

Long-term, hospice care questions for baby boomers bubble under surface

Care for baby boomers looms large as news outlets consider what long-term and hospice care for them could look like and how it could affect their prospects for quality care.

4 Jul 2012

First Edition: July 3, 2012

Today's headlines include reports that continue to delve into the policy-oriented and political repercussions of last week's high court decision on the health law.

3 Jul 2012

Home care association responds to Supreme Court’s decision on Affordable Care Act

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act. The following is the National Association for Home Care & Hospice’s (NAHC) official statement, from President Val J. Halamandaris:

29 Jun 2012

Enrollment and disenrollment in hospice linked to race

Although use of hospice services is increasing dramatically, a study led by Regenstrief Institute investigator Kathleen T. Unroe, M.D., MHA, an assistant research professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine, has found that nonwhite Medicare patients with heart failure are 20 percent less likely to enroll in hospice than their white counterparts.

25 Jun 2012

U.S. Department of Justice, Harden Healthcare reach settlement agreement

Harden Healthcare, a leading senior healthcare services provider and owner of Voyager HospiceCare and Hospice Care of Kansas, announced today that a settlement agreement has been reached with the U.S. Department of Justice.

22 Jun 2012

TigerText adds 7 new hospice organizations

TigerText, the #1 leader in secure, real-time messaging, has expanded its HIPAA compliant mobile messaging platform to a new healthcare segment, hospice providers, and today announced the addition of 7 new hospice organizations to its growing list of healthcare customers.

20 Jun 2012

Several key discoveries in palliative care

What is the best way to talk to someone about prognosis and quality of life when serious illness strikes? It turns out that no one had studied that question through direct observation, until the University of Rochester Medical Center audio-recorded 71 palliative care discussions.

2 Jun 2012